Regulation With a Smile
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It's a fact that busy workers are happy workers. Or is it the other way around? Either way, it may help explain the apparent mirth at the SEC.
The federal regulator — fresh off William Donaldson's administration, the busiest enforcement period ever — was ranked fifth within the federal government in a study titled “2005 Best Places to Work” conducted by the Partnership for Public Service and U.S. News and World Report.
Federal government jobs don't conjure up images of plucky colleagues cheerily gallivanting around their offices, high-fiving their fellow bureaucrats; in fact, the images that come to mind are more akin to scenes from the movie Office Space, with employees cursing the copier, worrying over the cover sheets on their TPS reports or jealously guarding a favorite stapler.
Not so at the SEC: “The SEC is an exceptional team of dedicated professionals who share a vital mission and a commitment to hard work in the public interest,” says Chairman Christopher Cox, in a statement regarding the award. “Almost everyone who works here could earn more in the private sector. We are all here because we want to be,” he said.
Edging out the SEC for the top spots on the list were, in descending order, the Office of Management and Budget, the National Science Foundation, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Government Accountability Office. To see the rest of the list, and to find out where the real parties are happening, visit bestplacestowork.org.
